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Exodus 27

God sets the pattern for Israel’s worship, specifying the altar, the court’s boundaries, and the care of its light.

God gives Moses instructions for the altar and the court surrounding the tabernacle. The altar is to be made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze, with tools for its service and poles for carrying it. Linen hangings mark out the court, with an embroidered screen at its entrance. The instructions then turn to the lamp: Israel must supply pure olive oil, and Aaron and his sons must tend the light before YHWH from evening to morning.

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1“You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits wide. The altar shall be square. Its height shall be three cubits.
2You shall make its horns on its four corners. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with bronze.
3You shall make its pots to take away its ashes; and its shovels, its basins, its meat hooks, and its fire pans. You shall make all its vessels of bronze.
4You shall make a grating for it of network of bronze. On the net you shall make four bronze rings in its four corners.
6You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze.
7Its poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when carrying it.
8You shall make it hollow with planks. They shall make it as it has been shown you on the mountain.
9“You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side.
10Its pillars shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
14The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16For the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four.
19All the instruments of the tabernacle in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be of bronze.
20“You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
21In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute forever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
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Key verses
Exodus 27:1The altar’s precise dimensions begin a set of instructions that places its construction under God’s command.
Exodus 27:9The linen hangings establish the court’s boundary, giving the tabernacle an enclosed space with a defined entrance.
Exodus 27:3The tools for ashes and offerings show that God’s instructions include the practical work of tending the altar.
Where this chapter reaches

Leviticus shares the command for pure olive oil and priestly care of the lamp, while Numbers describes the transport of the altar and its utensils. The temple accounts in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles also describe bronze equipment and courts for worship.

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After reading the whole chapter

What do the altar’s tools and carrying poles help you notice about Israel’s worship?

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What stands out in the shared responsibility of Israel and the priests for keeping the lamp burning?

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Questions people ask about Exodus 27

What was the altar in Exodus 27 used for?

This is the altar for sacrificial offerings in the tabernacle court. Its equipment includes tools for removing ashes, handling meat, and tending fire. Exodus 27 focuses on its construction and transport rather than the rules for particular sacrifices: it is hollow, bronze-covered, and fitted with carrying poles.

Did the lamp in Exodus 27 have to burn all day?

Verse 20 calls for a lamp to burn continually, and verse 21 specifies care “from evening to morning.” Together, these verses establish an ongoing duty to maintain the light through the night. The passage does not explain the daytime routine; its explicit time span is evening to morning.

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What the Bible says about worship →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).